Thirteen Things I Say Every Day

Phrases that are heard repeatedly coming out of my mouth:

1)"(Insert child's name), let me wipe your nose."

2)"(Insert child's name), that's enough!"

3)"(Insert child's name), leave him alone."

4)"(Insert child's name), did you take that from him?"

5)"(Insert child's name), let me handle that."

6)"(Insert child's name), no it's not time for (insert actvity)."

7)"Let's do an activity!"

8)"Yes, your mommy will be here soon."

9)"Why am I so tired?"

10)"Rock, leave it!" (Rock is our dog.:-)

11)"Rock, go lay on your bed."

12)"Are you getting enough to eat?"

13)"Let me clean up the kitchen...."

And there you have it. A light-hearted nutshell version of my day!

What are common phrases you find yourself using on a daily basis?

For more Thursday Thirteen lists, head on over to Happy2B@Home!

Thirteen Things I Learned At The Women's Retreat

I promised I would share some of what I learned at the Women's Retreat that I attended last weekend.

The retreat was part of the ministry at Living Waters, which is near Brevard, North Carolina. Living Waters offers many retreats and youth camps throughout the year at absolutely no charge. Yes, you read that right. They provide lodging and three very yummy home-cooked meals each day. This is made possible by donations and love offerings. Each person brings their own bedding, toilet paper, paper towels, etc. I love this concept of not charging for anything and know that many women were able to attend the retreat because of this.

Although I will share a bit more of my experiences in another post, I thought a Thursday Thirteen list would be a simple and concise way to share some thoughts and quotes from the teaching that was given during the sessions. Otherwise, I might go on forever!(As a side note: I've been talking to my husband about what all I learned for the past three days and I'm still telling him new things!)

Most of the teaching from the weekend was related to "The Kingdom of God". A contrast was made between the the kingdom of King Jesus and of Satan/God of the World System. That is where I will start and then the rest of the points will be random things that stood out to me from my notes.

1. In Satan's kingdom, rebellion, confusion, injustice, anxiety,sorrow and destruction reign.
In the kingdom where Jesus Christ reigns, there is authority, order, justice, righteousness, peace and joy.

2."The water of the Word soaks, softens and makes us pliable for His use. When we're hard, we're not concerned about other people. We're soaking in the water of His Word for a purpose-so that we can experience the authority, order, justice, righteousness, peace and joy of His kingdom."

3."Too many know God by a Word or an act; we need to know Him by His ways."
Psalm 103:7: "He made known His ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel:"
The Israelites always wanted to see God's acts; Moses wanted to know His ways(be in His presence).

4."I'd much better know Him by the Spirit of His Word, than by the letter of the law."

5."Do not stop looking to the Holy Spirit for instruction. Each person is responsible for hearing from the Holy Spirit. Each person is different and will hear different things."

6."Study the Word for yourself, not to teach others."

7."Give God permission to work in Your life."

8."When you walk in radical obedience, you have sustained confidence to face the difficulties of life."
Hebrews 10:35: "So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded."

9.Psalm 16:8:"I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken."
"We tend to set our circumstances before us, instead of the Lord."

10."The askers, chasers and seekers are the ones that get the revelation.
A lot to do with your purpose is revelation. More revelation gives you more purpose."

11."The most powerful two people who pray together are a man and his wife."

12."Everyone can hear God. You can hear God speak to you in your own situation."

13.On the last night, the main speaker, Marilyn Adams gave us a prescription to take with us:
--Personal Responsibility. I will take personal responsibility for me.

--Mentor. Ask God to show me who it is that is supposed to mentor me and ask that person. If I am supposed to be a mentor to someone, ask God to show me that person.

--Take personal responsibility to study the Word.

--Develop a prayer life.

--Develop yourself as a woman.
1.Take care of yourself.
2.Take time for yourself.
3.Develop and nurture your relationship with your husband.
4.Develop and nurture your relationship with your children.
5.Develop and nurture your relationship with your grandchildren.
6.Develop and train your children to take care of themselves.

--Give to your church. Do not give to the Lord and the church and neglect your family.

--Be willing to give to your community. Know the season and the seasons of your life.(If children are small, you are needed at home.)

--Teach your children to eat right. Feed them fruits and veggies and limit the junk food.

I had to pick and choose to come up with only 13 things and as you can see I kinda stretched it to include much more! I have so much that I gleaned from the retreat with so much that I can/will apply to my daily life. I hope that something I've shared here will also inspire you in your walk with God.

For more (actual) Thursday Thirteen lists, visit Happy To Be At Home.

Thirteen Things I Should Be Doing Instead Of Blogging

It's been a busy, hectic and crazy week. We've had quite a few evening things scheduled(including short road trips; last night was a 2 hour drive one way to a missionary commissioning) and most nights this week we haven't gotten into bed much before midnight. This results in getting up late so mornings are hurried and productivity has been low.

We normally lead a very quiet life but it seems that when we have one event planned, we have 3 or 4. All in the same week.

So here are 13 things I should or could be doing instead of blogging!

1)emptying the dishwasher
2)filling the dishwasher
3)folding a load of laundry
4)start working on supper prep
5)dust
6)wash windows and mirrors
7)mop floors
8)clean bathroom
9)sweep porch
10)water plants
11)dividing homemade chicken broth to freeze
12)make spaghetti pie to freeze(since my freezer cooking afternoon hasn't happened this week and the ingredients are in the fridge!)
13)take a nap!!!

So while I go get started on this neglected house, feel free to read more Thursday Thirteen lists over at Happy2B@Home!

Thursday Thirteen: 13 Things I Want to Grow This Year

It's February and I'm ready to start gardening! Here in the South, we can start cool weather seeds and plants such as peas, lettuce, and lettuce early. I need to buy seeds!

Between using pots and containers, my small garden here, and gardening with friends, here's a list of 13 things I'd like to grow this year:

1)basil

2)chives

3)dill

4)peas

5)green onions

6)spinach

7)leaf lettuce(a couple kinds)

8)radishes

9)green and red peppers

10)zucchini

11)tomatoes

12)cucumbers

13)green beans

Do you have the gardening fever yet? What do you want to grow this year?

**This post is part of Thursday Thirteen!

Thursday Thirteen: 13 Favorite Meals

I often chuckle when I read blogs or menu plans and the author states that she's trying to branch out from the same old week's worth of meals that she always makes. I don't smile or laugh because there is something wrong with that; it's just that I have the opposite problem. I have so many meals that we like that it's hard to get them all into a regular meal rotation. I'm sure it has a little to do with the fact that I love to cook and try new recipes and a lot to do with us loving to eat and rarely finding something that we simply don't like.

Needless to say, meal planning can be a bit overwhelming with so many choices! I asked my husband what his 5 favorite dinners were, then added mine to the list, then added 3 more to make a neat list of 13. Here's hoping for a little simpler meal planning by consulting this list for a few meals each week!

If I'm going to get in a rut, it might as well be with our favorite foods!

So here we have it, divided into neat categories of his, hers and ours:

Our 13 Favorite Meals

His
1)Homemade Pizza
2)Lasagna Soup
3)Stove-top Chicken and Rice
4)Ham Bundles
5)Chicken Stuffing Bake(I need to "healthify" this one!)

Hers
6)Taco Soup
7)Rotisserie-style Chicken
8)Lemon-Herb Chicken
9)Homemade Macaroni & Cheese
10)Creamed Eggs

Ours
11)Israeli Spice Chicken
12)Spinach Quiche
13)Nachos

What are some of your family's favorite meals?

For more Thursday Thirteen lists, run on over to Happy To Be At Home!